Toyota to launch new Prius from year-end, starting in Japan

The new Prius will run on smaller, lighter motors and batteries than its predecessor, and be at least 10 percent more fuel-efficient, Toyota said, without stating mileage. The previous model can run at 51 miles a gallon.Reuters | September 09, 2015, 17:40 IST

The new Prius will run on smaller, lighter motors and batteries than its predecessor, and be at least 10 percent more fuel-efficient, Toyota said, without stating mileage. The previous model can run at 51 miles a gallon.

TOKYO: Toyota Motor Corp plans to sell a new version of its Prius petrol-electric hybrid from the end of 2015 in Japan and in other regions thereafter, at a time when tumbling gasoline prices are sapping demand for environment-friendlier cars.

The new Prius will run on smaller, lighter motors and batteries than its predecessor, and be at least 10 per cent more fuel-efficient, Toyota said, without stating mileage. The previous model can run at 51 miles a gallon.

Thermal efficiency - or ratio of work performed to energy consumed - will be 40 per cent, up from 38.5 per cent, the company also said.

The car, unveiled in Las Vegas late on Tuesday, is the first model built under the Toyota New Global Architecture (TNGA) strategy, a new approach to development to improve its cars' fuel efficiency, styling and other features, partly by using more common components.

The launch comes at a challenging time for Toyota. US petrol prices are at their lowest for this time of year since 2004, pushing consumers to trade in hybrids and electric vehicles in favour of sports utility vehicles.

August Prius sales in the US fell 24 per cent from the same month a year earlier to 17,757 cars. Last year, US Prius sales totalled 207,372 vehicles.

Other automakers are adjusting product launches as cheap petrol muddies the sales outlook for green cars.